Ruby’s Inn RV Park, Bryce, Utah
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. ~ Proverbs 25:21-22
Last night, around 3:00am, we had a storm! They don’t do storms here like we’re used to back home in Ohio. Here, the winds howl at a constant 20-25mph with gusts of 40 or more and in some places close to us, produced penny to nickel-sized hail! In addition, the rain would pour for a few minutes, then stop. And I mean stop completely. Then it would start up again. This happened over and over for more than an hour. We had some thunder and lightning too. But one thing that was kinda scary were the very loud bangs I kept hearing that sounded like a huge tree branch had dropped on our roof. I knew that couldn’t be it because there are no trees around us, so I was puzzled, and to tell the truth, a little freaked out for a bit. But things eventually quieted down, nothing came crashing through the ceiling, the walls were all still intact and we were upright. And I went back to sleep.
The loud banging mystery was solved after breakfast, when I noticed our neighbor bring over the sunshade from our windshield. The wind had lifted it right off the strong magnets several times, before casting it completely off. He said it found it on the other side of his coach! That’s a long way, and it’s no lightweight!
We thought the storms were over, but then, about 8:30am, the sky grew dark once again. But then after a few minutes, the sun started shining and, you won’t believe it, but it started hailing!! And then we also heard thunder. And saw sunbeams cutting across the sky. Meanwhile, on the other side of the coach, we had blue sky and a few puffy white clouds. Bizarre!
Our sunshade blew clear over to the other side!
Note how the neighbor graciously placed it on our picnic table. : )
This also shows the blue sky on the opposite side.
Funny! But that’s sorta kinda the National Park side, so we can leave when we’re ready.
Hopefully, there will be no flash flooding today, or we won’t be able to leave the rim.
Once it warmed up a bit (it’s been in the 30’s at night!), we took off for the Park. Today’s adventure began with the 5.5-mile Peek-a-Boo Trail that includes a 1,571’ elevation change, and it wasn’t long before we discovered why it was given such an unusual name – – around every corner was another sight to behold! In other words, you round a corner and “peek-a-boo!” there’s something else marvelous to see! And no flooding! Yay!
It’s what they call pillars that have flat or rounded caps on them.
Like men with hats. Get it? : )
They also tell you that if you stand still and quiet, you can often hear stones rolling. And we did a few times!
Well, Blaine did. I only heard it once, as you’ll see later.
Isn’t it great?!?!?
This one’s not wrinkled from being in a wad in the Jeep bin. : )
We came to an area that was pretty open and offered us views across the trail gap to a “tunnel”, which was really just a large arch, and we kept hearing this buzzing sound that we thought were flies or bees.
Turned out to be a drone! Seriously? A drone? And they’re flying it in the canyon where no one is allowed to go, and there are hills and hoodoos everywhere. And besides that, it’s illegal. VERY illegal. Sometimes you just gotta wonder about people. I mean, who do they think they are that they can do something like that? It’s the same with the people who think they can take their dogs everywhere – – even when numerous signs say “No”.
Or should I say, irresponsible?
Well, you know that saying about karma?
As we were approaching where they were standing, we heard the crash. $1,500 gone. Just like that. We proceeded past them and through the arch, but the views were awesome on the other side, and as we were taking it in, Blaine’s Superman ears heard them say how much it cost. He also heard them discussing whether or not they could go down and retrieve it. Fortunately, they seem to have decided against that at least, because they may have gotten down, but most likely they wouldn’t have gotten back up. By the way. Once we returned to the parking lot, I spotted two Park Rangers directing traffic and asked them if they wanted to know the drone was down there. They didn’t, so it’ll remain there until Jesus returns and there’s a New Heaven and New Earth. But they did tell me that if they’d been caught, there would’ve been an extremely hefty fine for them to pay.
And now that the drama for the day is past, experience the rest of our magical journey!
The couple are just off screen to the right.
See? What did I tell you?
Incredible view!!
Purely accidental. : )
It looks like poured concrete. : )
What do you think? 
I took it again on our way back 2 1/2 hrs later
It would kinda be nice to know when all these took place. . .
Three miles, and then repeat the trail we were just on.
It hasn’t been cut (other than bangs) since early November!
The fact that it still looks decent is testament to that wonderful Helix cut!
It reminds me of our granddaughter, Harper.
She makes that expression a lot. lol
I could stand a long time just staring in awe at what God has given us!
But there’s no signage to corroborate that.
She was carrying an umbrella.
I’m glad I don’t have to carry one of those!
Horses aren’t allowed on the part we’re about to enter.
Sometimes there’s trees too. : )
Note the rocks on the left.
I happen to believe this looks like a cathedral.
Blaine says that’s not it.
What say you?
Can you see it?
Maybe I should’ve given you an arrow?
They’re a great asset to my wardrobe because they block the wind, keeping you warm,
they dry fast (like when you have to wade in a river),
and they zip off just above the knee and the pieces fit easily into pockets on the sides. : )
Golden yellow streaks over deep lavendar.
You can just maybe make out the rail and a couple of people up there.
Glad I had my jacket with me!
I don’t know why we didn’t take a picture, but we were sitting right beside the horse corral they use for trail rides. It smelled nice here. If you like horse smell, that is. : )
That’s Bryce point, our starting spot for todays hike, and unfortunately our ending spot also.
But with this trail, you stop so often that you really don’t notice the altitude much.
Funny how the sunlight changes things so much. : )
Do you see a red rock in front of a white one?
Or do you see an arch?
It’s actually an arch! We think . . .
Our eyes kept going back and forth with this optical illusion. : )
I had a picture of the quarter-sized rock that rolled down the hill in front of us,
but I deleted it because I thought it was a mistake picture.
You’re probably not sorry. lol
Just becuase I thought it was interesting. : )
What kind of trouble have you found?
If you’d just stay on the trail like you’re supposed to . . . .
Don’t fret. Rocks didn’t really fall on his foot. He placed them there while he was waiting for me to get done playing around the arch. He’s just fine. lol
That’s the end up there, you can just barely make out a sign. 
Sometimes, I just like to try black and white. : )
This is the only thing we did today. It was enough. Wasn’t it an amazing journey? God has truly blessed this nation with feasts for the eyes!
Plus dinner took a bit of prep time.
Our oldest grandson, Alex’s 13th birthday was yesterday, and today, our son Chris, sent pictures of their celebration. These are the times we really miss being home! : (
First they went over to our son Kyle’s to help get the new pool started.
You’re supposed to whistle while you work! lol
Then they went off for a hike in the woods. Alex’s youth pastor joined them and took pictures.
Don’t know where Max is. : )
Maybe they’ll join us one day!
She owns a yogurt ice cream shop and invited them over
for a private birthday celebration.
Wasn’t that nice?!?
Chris has terrific, Jesus-loving people at his church!
Every once in a while, I can talk Blaine into one of my favorite meals, that he doesn’t particularly care for – Orange Chicken! And yes. He fried the chicken pieces outside. 😊
This is the leftovers. : )
ORANGE CHICKEN
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 egg white
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1 C. water
½ C. ketchup
½ C. sugar
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T soy sauce
2 T. cornstarch
1 T plus 1 t. sesame oil
2 T. vegetable oil
1 orange, zested and juiced
2 green onions, sliced
Broccoli, bite-size pieces and partially cooked
Oil for frying
1 C. cornstarch
Preheat oil in a deep fryer to 400 degrees.
Combine the egg white, salt and sugar in a bowl and stir vigorously until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Add the chicken cubes and stir to coat well.
In a large bag, add 1 C. cornstarch. Add the chicken cubes and shake to coat. Fry the chicken until golden brown. Drain. Reheat the oil and fry the chicken again for just a minute. (this step makes the chicken crispier. If you don’t want that, you can omit re-frying.)
To make the orange sauce, combine the water, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch and sesame oil. Stir and set aside. Place a skillet over high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the vegetable oil. Add the orange zest and green onions and cook, stirring constantly for about 20 seconds. Be careful not to burn the zest.
Pour the combined sauce ingredients into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sauce has thickened. Add the fried chicken.
Serve over rice.
Serves 4
HINT: Just like sweet and sour pork, you can cook the chicken ahead of time and save lots of time when preparing your meal! Also, we like steamed broccoli with this meal.